Why doesn't our government protect our health as well as we would hope? Follow the money.

I knew the pharmaceutical industry had a lot of influence in government, but I was still surprised to read in this article that the pharmaceutical industry spends double what the oil and gas industry spends on lobbying.  In the linked article Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asserts that this is why congress is dragging its feet on investigating accusations that the CDC falsified data to hide a 240% increase in autism rates for African-American boys after MMR shots.  For a comparison of spending on congressional lobbying by industry look here.  I have come to understand that when something is being recommended, or mandated, that doesn't seem quite right, it is very important to follow money to see who might be behind it.  The list of lobbying dollars by industry provides some very interesting fodder.  I was also shocked to see the electric utilities at number 3 on this list.  That is very interesting in light of the current effort to force dangerous smart meters on everyone in the country.